Xenophon Paper No.1

CategoryXenophon Paper

YearJuly 2006

AuthorIoannis Stribis

CountryGreece

LanguageEnglish

The Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is currently considering a set of proposals for reform with a view to increasing its effectiveness and cohesion. This Xenophon Paper is intended to contribute to the effort for improved governance of the BSEC in order to enable the Organisation to cope with current and future challenges. The focus is on the cardinal issue of decision-making, identifying existing shortcomings and suggesting concrete ways to overcome them.

The proposed remedies aim to make full use of the provisions already inscribed in the BSEC statutory documents and to propose amendments of the existing normative framework in order to improve decision-making procedures and practices. The other axis of envisaged reforms concerns the transparency of decision-making process. Informed decision-making needs to be accessible to all stakeholders and to provide them with an opportunity to voice their opinions and proposals. The paper also compares the operation of the BSEC with other European institutions, in particular the European Union, and presents concrete proposals for engaging professional associations, civil society and the wider public in the BSEC decision-shaping process.